Local dishes: Rich and varied, as France is the
world leader in gastronomic terms. Trademark dishes include
confit de canard, cassoulet,
bouillabaise (fish soup), foie gras,
ratatouille, escargots and Chateau
Briand. A typical day's eating begins with a bowl of café
au lait, a croissant and a thin loaf of bread smeared with
butter and jam. An appetite-stirring apéritif such as kir
(white wine sweetened with syrup) is often served before a meal,
while a digestif (cognac or Armagnac brandy) may be served at the
end of a meal. Other beverages designed to aid digestion and
stimulate conversation include espresso, beer, liqueurs such as
pastis (a 90-proof, anise-flavoured cousin of the
long-outlawed absinthe) and some of the best wine in the
world.

Good reading: Les Misérables or The
Hunchback of Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo, Gustave Flaubert's
Madame Bovary, Germinal by Émile Zola, and
Baroness Orczy's French Revolution blockbuster The Scarlet
Pimpernel. More modern writing includes The
Scapegoat, by one of France's most popular authors, Daniel
Pennac.